Sunday, December 09, 2012

Saturday morning we had to rush Barclay to the emergency vet! He had been coughing on Wednesday, lethargic the past two days, and Saturday morning I followed him around the yard and he looked like he was so weak he was going to collapse. I had already decided he would go to the vet that day, and planned to call them as soon as they opened at 8, but here it was 5am, and he wasn't looking good. I took him inside and gave him some soft food, and he ate a bite, then just stared at the bowl and shivered. That was it, he was going in NOW.

We got to the vet and they examined him and determined he was running a very high fever! They took him back to do xrays and blood tests, and had to knock him out because he was so upset about it. They found a sore in the back of his throat - they think he may have poked it with a bone. I think it was the 'pig ear' rawhides he likes. Some of them are thin and have pointy ends - I could see him swallowing a chunk and hurting his throat.

They put him on an IV, for fluids, antibiotics, and pain meds, and kept him all day. I was so worried I called to check on him every couple hours. Navi didn't know what to do with herself, being the only dog. By afternoon she was sitting in the hallway yapping at nothing - I think she was just nervous. Being the only dog is a lot of pressure for her! By evening the vet said Barclay was eating solid food and drinking, and was so upset about being there, they were ready to send him home so he could rest.

Of course he was super happy to see us! We took him home and he drank and ate and slept in the middle of the living room where he could be the center of attention. Navi followed him around wagging her tail, and sat on the couch watching him sleep until she fell asleep too. He pretty much slept on our bed all night. I heard a couple coughs from him this morning and we got up and gave him his pills, he ate and drank, and even barked at the front window a little. But mostly he's resting.

Hopefully this will be a quick recovery. The vet says there's a chance the sore is a tumor, not a wound, but I am assuming it's a wound, and that's what the vet felt was most likely too. It makes sense, and I refuse to even think about another dog having cancer at this point. He'll get another exam in a couple weeks to see how it looks. The first thing I did when I got home is throw out those 'pig ears' - no more of those for him!